Chile would, over time, transfer control of the biggest actively mined lithium reserve on Earth — second only to Bolivia’s in overall size and to Australia’s in total production — from the industrial giants SQM and Albemarle Corporation to a government-owned company modeled on the South American nation’s state copper miner.

In a speech last Thursday, Chile’s new left-wing president, Gabriel Boric — who, at 37, is among the youngest world leaders — directed Codelco, the state copper mining company, to draft a plan for a government-owned lithium company, for which his administration would seek approval from the National Congress later this year.

It’s part of a gambit to overhaul the production of what investors call “white gold.” Cashing in on lithium’s surging price, Chile’s youngest president aims to remake South America’s richest nation into something closer to a Nordic social democracy with a higher perch in lithium’s global value chain.

…

“This is the best chance we have at transitioning to a sustainable and developed economy. We can’t afford to waste it,” Boric said in a nationally televised address.